50,000 sign petition against gay marriage

Opponents of a bill to legalise same-sex marriage have delivered a petition with 50,000 signatures to Parliament.

The protesters, led by conservative lobby group Family First, wanted marriage to remain between a man and a woman.

The group was met on Parliament steps by Labour MPs Su'a William Sio and Ross Robertson, and National MP Alfred Ngaro who opposed the bill, and New Zealand First MP Asenati Lole-Taylor, who wanted a referendum on the issue.

Family First founder Bob McCoskrie said he had been expecting about 10,000 signatures, and had been surprised by the number of responses he had received in a month.